Even if that may be, there is a need to reduce malnutrition in Indian children. Govt. might want to take the easy way out by saying statistically we have reduced malnutrition, but is that a policy step, or a way to fudge the numbers. What is needed is not a new study on how to measure, which I do think is necessary but a real policy that could actually tackle the problem rather than address the symptom. And with this govt. I dont really have a real hope of change or policy or anything really. It is very clear to me now after about 8 years of Manmohan Singh govt. that he was not the architect of India's economic liberalization but the bureaucrat who wrote it, it was actually Narsimha Rao, who fearlessly went where no-one dared to go before. It took his political will and Manmohan's writing capabilities to pass any form of reform in 1991. Perhaps we need another Narsimha Rao, but I dont see one in the horizon, alas, so basically what I am saying is goo luck feeding those hungry children.

11:32 am June 20, 2012

Nikhil wrote:

Highly speculative. First of all, do you have any evidence at all to support Panagariya's claims about the phenotype of Sub-Saharan African populations? The last time I checked, Aravind Panagariya was an economist who has done some work in trade policy. NOT an expert in any of the following, highly specialised fields: genetics, nutrition, child development. Even assuming there's something to this genetics argument, how is that Punjab's malnourishment rates are much higher than Kerala's? Isn't the median Punjabi taller and heavier than the median Mallu?

Second, your argument is based on the premise that there ought to be a strong correlation between India's per-capita income and malnutrition rates. You seem puzzled that some Sub-Saharan African countries with lower per capita incomes have lower malnutrition. Two problems with this line of argument: a) correlation does not imply causation and b) income inequality could be a good explanation for why the mean income shifts upwards while while mean body mass index remains below par (since the rich aren't 7 ft tall 300 pound giants).

4:18 pm June 20, 2012

Ranjit Goswami wrote:

Life expectancy at birth data for Sub-Saharan Africa is not a right benchmark for India. It normally has been in an uptrend globally, barring Sub-Saharan Africa, due to high prevalence of HIV there (Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Life_expectancy_in_some_Southern_African_countries_1958_to_2003.png ) A simple look at South Africa, which is much more developed than India, and is not included in SSA justifies same. The per capita income of SSA (of around $1200) is not much different from that of India ($1500), and inequality in India is much higher. There is a concerted effort, in a section of press, as had been observed earlier while comparing India with China years ago, although both are as different as chalk and cheese. More so their economic reforms. They had nothing in common barring the word 'reform'.

8:24 pm June 20, 2012

Nirav wrote:

I am shocked at the way this article is written, considering it is filed as an 'Economics Journal'.

Reasons:
1) There is absolutely no data provided on the hypothesis of "at any given age, sub-Saharan African children and those defining WHO reference population are on average genetically taller and weigh more than Indian children". In contrast, the DNA article, that this same post begins with, clearly points out (with statistics) the more plausible reasons for the problem in India: income and education of mothers, and their hygiene practices.

2) Even if the troubling findings are based on methodology you dismiss as "apparently firm", both the findings and the plausible causes come from the same reports. How is the credibility of those reports questionable?

3) You are comparing India's scores, scores of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and WHO standards all at the same time. And while you are questioning the WHO standards as the "only plausible explanation for the wide discrepancy", how come there is no questioning of the scores for the African countries? Isn't it also possible (and more plausible) that the scores in sub-Saharan African countries reflect a the brighter side of reality. Considering all the problems you have mentioned, it would be logical to assume that large sections of population and geographical areas would be inaccessible to people conducting studies there.

4) The WHO study says that the sample included Indian children (even some from posh areas like South Delhi). Morever, it is based on a fairly large sample size, and is spread over time. The FAQs on the site also mention that the benchmarks can be fairly used for all children across geographies and ethnicities. So why (and to what end) are we questioning the benchmarks?

Look at the 2011 table for hunger rates. Vietnam and India have the same per capita but Vietnam has a much lower hunger rate. (11 v. 24)

Cambodia is a poorer country than India but has a lower rate. (20 v. 24)

How does the professor explain this difference?

1:11 am June 23, 2012

Ramana Murthy wrote:

Statistics. Eh ?

1:15 am June 26, 2012

anu wrote:

I live in sub saharan africa.....in one of the poorest nations in the world.none of u can even imagine what poverty feels like ,I have lived here for 10 years and I have yet to see a child under 5 who is not malnourished.
Statistics according to me are sheer number, I wish someday some economist does ground work themselves.living in these conditions...not just collecting numbers ...through survey, then only we will have to redefine poverty...

1:41 am June 26, 2012

Nana wrote:

"it can make you wonder if it would be better to raise your children elsewhere, even sub-Saharan Africa." Why "even" sub-Saharan Africa? Have you actually visited any African countries. We have wealthy, middle-class and lower income people, just like other countries. We have beautiful neigborhoods, schools etc. I think you should visit at least one country in each region of Africa before adopting that superior tone.

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